


Computer Says “No”

by Basmathgirl



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, British Female Character, Embarrassment, F/M, Humor, Memory Loss, Post-Episode: s04e13 Journey's End, Temporary Amnesia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-19
Updated: 2018-12-19
Packaged: 2019-09-22 19:23:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17065628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Basmathgirl/pseuds/Basmathgirl
Summary: Poor Metacrisis Doctor. He wants the woman by his side badly, and his memory isn't doing him any favours, but at least he is in the right universe.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> **Disclaimer:** I do not own anything at all here. Not a sausage. (Is it only me that fancies sausages now?)  
>  **A/N:** This was originally written when I offered to return a favour and write [tardis_mole](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tardis_mole/pseuds/tardis_mole) a birthday fic if he gave me a prompt; resulting in this little scenario. Now updated from the 2012 version.

Donna had smirked at him in that way he had quickly become accustomed to. “Come on, Half Ten,” she encouraged him as they entered the kitchen.

“Half Ten?” he had queried, the name sounding weird to his ear.

“Yes, Half Ten,” she had confirmed. “You are half the tenth Doctor and a quarter to Donna.” She then laughed heartily at her own joke.

He had thought carefully about that, and wasn’t quite so sure about being called a time. What if everyone who asked the time found him responding like Pavlov’s dogs? Except he wouldn’t be salivating, unless dinner was involved somehow.

Anyway, that was how he came to refer to himself as Half Ten in his mind; not that he used it verbally to other people. To them he still used the name ‘Doctor’. It sounded homely, like wrapping himself in a familiar blanket; and not a baby blankie, as Donna had teased him when he had admitted to her why he didn’t want to think up a different name! The minx! Although he hadn’t minded being her joke target during the little time they had spent together, because that had been very familiar too. 

The Metacrisis Doctor sighed. As it was, he didn’t remember much about Donna or his short life onboard the TARDIS, but there were still snippets and impressions left in his mind. If only he could find her to ask about his present problem. He was sure she could come up with a suitable solution. The woman he was sitting with eyed him suspiciously and tossed her long blonde hair defiantly over her shoulder. Oh dear! He had upset her again, and couldn’t seem to stop doing so. 

As he considered his options he happened to glance at an abandoned newspaper lying on the restaurant bench nearest to him. The date stated it was May. Strange that; he could have sworn it was November. Did people tend to leave newspapers laying around for that long? Struggling to get his thoughts back on target, because, let’s face it, since coming to this universe he had had numerous problems thinking and recalling information, he forced his attention to return to his attractive companion.

In a vain attempt to win her round, he smiled sweetly before taking a sip from his cup of tea. She merely scowled back at him. It didn’t help that the tea was atrocious! Talk about offend your taste buds. “Perhaps I should have had a banana milkshake,” he commented to fill the air between them. 

“Not all tea is like this then?” she asked with reluctant interest.

“No, I should have chosen a proper tearoom rather than McDonalds,” he replied, trying not to act too eager now that she had decided to talk to him again.

She looked around the McDonalds restaurant that they sat in with renewed interest. “Why did you choose this place?”

“Because it’s a safe place for…” It was on the tip of his tongue to state that it was somewhere safe that you took someone on a date; but he was having problems with that aspect of their relationship. “…bringing a family,” he weakly finished. But it got a slight smile, so he felt he was winning.

Boosted up by this, he leant forward and placed a hand over hers. “You look beautiful when you smile,” he complimented her, using his widest grin.

“Do I?” she wondered. “More than my mother?”

“I’m sure you are,” he readily answered, although he couldn’t be sure of that in the slightest. All he was certain of was the fact he fancied this woman rotten and was almost prepared to say anything to attract her interest.

She merely tilted her head to the side, like a little confused puppy, causing her hair to swish around her throat in a delectable way. It took a lot of effort on his part not to reach out and tenderly caress her cheek. The expression on her face stopped him doing that.

In a sudden panic he realised that he not only couldn’t remember who her mother could possibly be, he couldn’t even remember her name! Oh dear. How shaming was that?! 

And he wished she would stop swivelling her body about or pressing her chest forward as she indignantly huffed at him. Her aroma was if all his Christmases had come at once, making him positively drool. But that wasn’t her only attractive quality; oh no. She had a slim, petite body, small pert breasts, long blonde hair that was currently tied back from covering her face; and those eyes… He really wished she would stop flashing those gorgeous intelligent eyes at him, because it was starting to drive him crazy with desire! Not that he even remembered having much call to feel desire in the past. Perhaps he had been living as a monk? It was possible, he supposed. It was all so dark and hazy in his mind. In hindsight it was amazing he had managed to cling onto that small memory with Donna. Or the other main memory of stealing something as he left the TARDIS that easily tied around his wrist and aided his travel plans. Now, what had he taken? 

Half Ten was brought out of his revelry by the voice of the woman sitting patiently beside him, and her loveliness made him practically swoon. 

“Thank you,” she mumbled, and modestly dipped her head as though she wasn’t used to such things being said to her.

In a time-honoured fashion, he held out his hand to her in invitation. “Why don’t you come with me, and we can get to know each other more intimately,” he crooned, using his suave voice. When she didn’t immediately take the offered hand, but frowned at him in confusion, he added, “Come on. What do you say, erm…? Sorry, I’ve forgotten your name.”

If looks could kill he would have been stone dead in that second. She flashed her icy blue eyes at him and tightly informed him, “My name is Jenny, Dad.” 

Dad? Dad! Jenny. She was Jenny! He was actually sitting next to his Jenny; or their Jenny, depending on how you wanting to view it. And he had been trying to… 

Ooh er! 

Nausea instantly welled up. “Jenny,” he murmured, and promptly slid off his seat and onto the floor in a faint.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** I was asked questions about what happened next; and when I am asked, I love to answer.

Half Ten came to and found several concerned faces peering down at him. The nearest one was Jenny, of course, but an oldish woman was using an expert hand to his wrist in order to find his pulse rate.

He turned his head in order to see her more clearly and realised that her dyed blonde head was very familiar. Almost too familiar. “Mum?” he rasped out.

She snorted towards Jenny and sat down next to her. “He must have given his head a god almighty whack as he went down. He seems to think I’m his mother,” she stated with some surprise to Jenny. “It’s a good job I saw him waver and go down as I walked passed this place. Are you okay, dear? It certainly gave you a fright.”

‘Never mind her, what about me?!’ he wanted to shout at the top of his lungs. Only he didn’t because his head felt woozy and all thingummy. Very scientific, that.

“It did,” Jenny readily agreed. “I’ve never seen this happen before. Dad’s been acting strange all day, since I met him earlier.”

He wanted to groan, ‘Don’t remind me.’ Lust can do strange things to a man. Misdirected lust even more so.

“In what way strange?” the woman asked Jenny apprehensively. She then noticed the Metacrisis Doctor still peering at her intensely from his lowly position, not making any attempt to move. 

“Am I allowed to sit on a proper seat now?” he wondered. It was all very well sitting on the floor, but he’d had enough of it now; and the way the woman behaved made him wonder if he needed to seek permission first.

“We’d better help him get up now,” she decided, and then gesticulated at two lads.

Two of the bystanders, having been ordered to do so, started to lift up his shoulders, forcing him to sit up. They eventually guided him onto the bench opposite the two women. After that everyone else drifted away, leaving just the three of them to deal with whatever had happened to him.

With an anxious glance, Half Ten rubbed his neck in self comfort as reality slowly made a comeback. It didn’t help that his head was throbbing. The earlier misunderstanding with Jenny was long gone from his memory. Uppermost in his mind was the woman and how much of a mystery she was to him. Why had he thought he knew her? Something was swimming in the background of his mind, something that he couldn’t help feeling was really important if he could only grab a decent mental hold on it.

It was at that point that she looked him square in the face. There was a strangled cry as she instantly paled. She obviously recognised him, and choked a little bit. “You look dreadful,” she commented. “I didn’t realise it was you.”

Who did she think he was if he wasn’t him? He got the feeling that she wouldn’t have rushed into the restaurant to help him if she had realised. And that thought worried him; that worried him a lot. What had he ever done to her? 

“Do you know him?” Jenny immediately asked. “How come?”

“Well, it’s obvious, isn’t it?” the woman blustered. “This is the Doctor.” She then considered the young woman by her side. “Did you say he is your dad?” 

“Yes,” Jenny answered brightly, glad to have found someone who knew him. “We got separated soon after I was born, but I finally found him this morning.”

Half Ten was deep in thought. The woman couldn’t be, could she…?

The woman answered Jenny with a disbelieving, “Really?” Oh my! This was a turn up for the books. She could hardly believe what she was hearing. “Donna never mentioned you…”

He only just managed to stay in his seat as he interrupted her. “Of course, that’s it!” Half Ten practically yelled out as the connection formed properly in his mind. “You’re Sylvia Noble. Phew! I am so glad that’s been sorted out.” He then grinned manically at her. As far as he was concerned that was it, done and dusted.

“What the…?” Sylvia was clearly flummoxed by his behaviour. This wasn’t like him at all. Normally he was an arrogant, obnoxious and dangerous man, alien, or whatever he was; and not this gibbering baboon that was seated in front of her. “I can see why you are so worried,” she remarked to Jenny.

“Do you know who she is, Dad?” Jenny asked Half Ten.

Well, d’uh! “Of course I do,” he replied confidently. “Jenny, this is Sylvia Noble; your grandmother… well, sort of.”

“I’m what?!” Sylvia spluttered out.

Simultaneously, Jenny automatically said, “Hello.”

People can be so slow to get the message, he found. Without thinking, he picked up his tea and sipped it, frowning deeply when the taste and cold temperature hit his palate. “Ew! That is disgusting!” he cried out before noticing two pairs of cold blue eyes were glaring at him in question. “Oh right. Questions; I assume you both have lots of questions.”

“Grandmother?” Sylvia asked tightly at exactly the same time Jenny did.

“Whoa! That is spooky,” he remarked, deeply impressed by their synchronicity. “Have you two been practising?” He then held up his hand and gazed in wonder at it. “Obviously Donna’s DNA was involved during the whole poke, prod and pluck routine.”

“The what?” Sylvia looked very confused.

“I was born from a machine,” Jenny stated, having decided that her father wasn’t quite capable of supplying a decent answer. “On a planet called Messaline. I was force grown when a DNA sample was taken from my father’s hand; and he is suggesting that Donna’s DNA was somehow involved too, which would make her properly my mother, although she gained that title in my mind later.”

“And that would make me your grandmother, since Donna is my daughter,” Sylvia supplied after thinking it through, and then smiled proudly at the girl. “My granddaughter. Who would have thought? How lovely to meet you. You can call me ‘Gran’.”

Up until that point, he had wanted to give them a slow handclap, but Half Ten watched in astonishment as Sylvia Noble opened her arms wide and Jenny threw herself into them to gain a hug. Well I never! He gave a feeble cough. “Injured man over here,” he whined as pathetically as he could. 

“Give over, you tart,” Sylvia admonished him, and Jenny giggled. She kept a hold of Jenny’s hand, and eagerly said to her, “We have so much to do. I have to tell all my friends and family about you, plan a little ‘welcome to the family’ do…”

There was a murmured, “I never got a ‘welcome to the family’ do!”

Sylvia ignored his petulant outburst, and carried on. “We have to buy you a special nice new dress, and then Donna can… Oh!” 

He had sat waiting for her to join the dots up, and his chance to sarkily ask, “What are you going to do about Donna?”

“Is there something wrong with her?” Jenny anxiously wondered.

Sylvia patted her hand. “Yes, dear. Donna can’t see you. She can’t see either of you thanks to your father.” She then threw a glare at him.

“It’s got nothing to do with me,” he protested. “I never caused whatever happened to her. I only felt it halfway across the known universes and beyond.” He sat back with his arms folded and a pout on his lips.

“What do you mean it wasn’t you?!” Sylvia squawked indignantly. “If it wasn’t you, who the hell was it? Father Christmas?”

“Now don’t drag Jeff into this. He is as innocent as I am,” he complained. “And for your information, all is not lost.”

“How is it not lost?” Sylvia demanded to know.

“Erm…” He fervently swept his gaze about the restaurant in search of an answer when Jenny apparently didn’t have one. “Try asking me again later. It was on the tip of my brain, but it’s gone now.”

“Fat lot of good you are in this current state,” Sylvia grumbled. 

“You must have some idea what we can do, Dad,” Jenny implored him.

He thought about it some more, and then brightly declared, “I know; let’s ask Donna!” He had no idea what the answering groans were for; he had thought it was an excellent idea.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** the reference to Chris Evans here is the British TV presenter & radio DJ, and NOT the actor.

“What? What’s the problem?” he asked them both.

“I don’t know what the matter with Donna is, but you’ve both said that we can’t see her,” Jenny clarified. She peered at him, wondering what exactly the problem with him was.

“Have you gone completely doolally?” Sylvia demanded to know. “Seeing Donna will kill her. You said so yourself. I’m not too bloody old and stupid to forget that!”

“Unfortunately I am,” he involuntarily confessed. “I’d forget my head if it wasn’t screwed on.”

Sylvia frowned and Jenny looked puzzled. “Is there anyone else we can ask, Gran?” she wondered.

Sylvia thought about that as she tried not to watch Half Ten demolish a burger. “Come to think of it, there was that nice looking fella we saw on the subwave network. Looked just like a film star, he did.”

“How do we contact him?” Jenny asked Sylvia as she worried about her father’s lack of response to this query.

Standing up decisively, Sylvia announced, “I’ll ask Dad, he’s bound to know. He’s got more secrets than MI5 and MI6 put together.” It was then that Sylvia thought to add, “You can call him Gramps, like Donna does.”

“Gramps!” Half Ten yelled out, suddenly coming to life. “I’ve missed Gramps. Can we go and see him?”

Sylvia took in his expectant face and couldn’t help wondering for the umpteenth time that day what had happened to him. Whatever it was, he was no longer the man he had once been; he had disappeared when Donna had been returned home, in more ways than one. Perhaps getting him in the same room as her dad would help matters? It was worth a try. Trying to smile pleasantly, she replied, “Of course we can.”

The whoop of joy both shocked her and brought unbidden tears to her eyes. Damn Martian affecting her heart that way! She was supposed to be hating him, not feeling this sympathetic. With that end in mind, she told herself she was doing this for Jenny. Jenny needed to meet her family. 

 

“Hello, love! You’re back home early,” Wilf greeted Sylvia when she opened the street door and stepped into their hallway. “Cup of tea?”

As he turned to head for the kitchen, she interrupted his train of thought by saying, “Dad, I’ve met someone you might want to meet.”

“Oh?” he queried. “Got yourself a new fella I should know about?” he teased.

“Well, it’s partly a fella,” she reluctantly agreed. “But he isn’t mine; he’s Donna’s.”

“What do you mean?” Wilf rushed to the door to peer outside, and bounced up and down in glee when he spotted Half Ten. “Doctor! You came back. Have you come to fix her?”

“I erm…,” Half Ten stammered, and instantly found himself engulfed in a hug that he eagerly returned. “I’ve missed you, Gramps.”

“Dad, aren’t you going to introduce me?” a young female voice behind him gently reminded him of her presence.

Half Ten extracted himself from Wilf, and sniffed before pointing to Jenny. “This is our Jenny. Jenny, meet your great-grandfather, Wilf.”

“What?” Wilf appealed to Sylvia pathetically.

“Yes Dad, this is Donna’s daughter Jenny. Shame about him being her father, but you can’t have everything,” Sylvia retorted.

Confusion gave way to love and acceptance as Wilf reached out to grasp Jenny and drag her into his arms. “Welcome to the family, Sweetheart. Call me Gramps.”

“Hello Gramps,” Jenny greeted him, and wallowed in the love being offered.

“Let’s get inside and have a cup of tea,” Sylvia gruffly ordered them; more out of embarrassment than nastiness. “We don’t want the neighbours thinking we’ve gone mad.”

“No, they already know that one,” Wilf whispered to Jenny with a wink; making her giggle. “Come on, Doctor; come and explain why you are here,” he invited Half Ten, taking a firm grasp of his arm as though he expected the half Time Lord to scarper at any second.

Feeling slightly cornered but not knowing why, Half Ten bluffed his way through an answer. “Ah, well, you, Gramps, I might have a bit of trouble with that.”

And they headed into the kitchen diner to explain how the three of them came to be standing there at that time of day. 

After hearing the tale, Wilf decided, “I think this deserves a little celebration. Do you fancy a small snifter?” 

Jenny was keen to find out exactly what this would entail.

 

Half Ten was convinced someone had moved the edge of the settee since he had sat down. And every time he tried to figure it out, a rippling giggling fit had weaved its way through his system, causing him to find almost every mortal thing funny. Either that or Chris Evans had suddenly become the funniest man on the planet when he wasn’t looking.

“Dad! Take that bottle of sherry away from him,” Sylvia Noble called out to her father.

Wilf stood, trying to appear innocent in her eyes. “What? I didn’t do anything. All I did was give him a sherry or two to celebrate meeting our Jenny.”

“Exactly how many is ‘a sherry or two’?” she demanded to know.

Wilf held the bottle up to the light as he considered this question. “No more than five at the most; perhaps seven,” he hazarded a guess.

“Dad,” Sylvia gasped out in shock. “How could you? I don’t even know if he is allowed to drink that much.”

There was a cheeky grin from Half Ten in answer. “N-n-n-n-not allowed normally. Donna would disapprove,” he stuttered out, and happily closed his eyes.

Jenny considered him with a great deal of interest and confusion. “Why is he behaving like that, Gran?”

Sylvia patted her arm to give some comfort. “It’s called being drunk, love.”

There was a muffled, “I’m not drunk. I don’t know how.”

She ignored that, and continued, “At least he is a happy drunk; I’ve seen far worse.”

“Like Tony Wishart, up on the corner,” Wilf agreed, reminiscing. “He’d pick a fight with anyone when he’s had one jar too many over the eight.”

“Don’t remind me,” Sylvia huffed. “I’m the one that had to take him to Casualty when he picked a fight with the lamp post outside, the stupid sod.”

“Donna didn’t approve,” Half Ten added with another giggle. “She said it was a shame he hadn’t hit it with his groin instead of his hand.” He snuggled closer into the cushion he was holding. “He’s a dangerous prat at the best of times, and a rubbish kisser. Got her own back when she wrapped his hand up good and tight.”

“Jenny, would you go and fetch your father a large glass of water, please,” Sylvia quickly asked when it looked as though some interesting fact was about to fall out of his mouth.

Jenny scowled. She’d miss out on some enlightening information if she left the room at that moment, but the expression on her grandmother’s face did not allow for any disobedience so she hastily made for the kitchen. 

Waiting for her to go, Sylvia immediately asked Half Ten a further question. “Well? What happened between Tony and our Donna?”

He waved his hand dismissively. “Not nearly as much as he wanted, fortunately, or deserved. Donna made sure that he got the message that when a lady says ‘no’ she means ‘no’,” he stated proudly. “It was funny when we tasered him with the sonic screwdriver; that got the point home,” he continued, demonstrating the action with glee, and burst into laughter. “He almost lit up like a Christmas tree.”

Wilf and Sylvia exchanged an anxious glance when Jenny re-entered the room. 

“We’d better get him sobered up before Donna gets home,” Wilf commented as Jenny handed him the glass of water she carried.

“Will that help?” Jenny wondered.

“It’ll make sure he gets out of the house,” Sylvia sharply answered. “We can’t have him hanging around the place.” She then prodded the duplicate. “Oi, Doctor! Where do you live?”

He pouted and rubbed his arm where she had poked him. “I don’t know, do I? Somewhere or other. Just leave me here for the time being.” He then appalled Sylvia by nestling down on to her settee, of all places.

“Oh no you don’t!” she cried, and poked at him again. “Get up. Dad, get him to leave the house.”

“But Gran, where will he go?” Jenny tearfully asked. 

“I don’t care. Anywhere as long as it isn’t here,” Sylvia snapped, and then realised what she had done. She reached out to hug Jenny. “He can’t stay here, love; it’s too dangerous. I wonder if Suzette can put him up for the night…?”


	4. Chapter 4

It was all arranged; Sylvia had been on the phone with Suzette organising Half Ten a bed for the night whilst Wilf plied him with fresh coffee. Jenny sat next to her father, holding his hand the whole time as she anxiously waited for this ‘illness’ to abate. They’d tried to tell her that drunkenness wasn’t normally seen as being ill, but she insisted that their metabolism was completely different and it might be poisoning him.

The whole time Half Ten had sat giggling at inane thoughts and enjoying the feel of Jenny’s hand in his. It was nice to have that sort of comfort again. He was almost with it again; well, as with it as he was currently going to get; when they heard the sound of a key in the front door lock.

“Dad! It’s Donna!” Sylvia shrieked out in shock.

“Wait there,” Wilf commanded, putting down the pot of coffee he was holding, and rushed to the inner door to press it shut.

There was the muffled sound of Donna’s protest from outside in the hallway. “Gramps? What’s going on?”

“Nothing, Sweetheart. Just a little surprise that we don’t want you to see,” he reluctantly supplied.

“What do you mean ‘a surprise’? It isn’t my birthday yet, and we’re miles away from Christmas,” she argued.

Wilf held the door fast. “It’s just… You can’t come in yet, alright?”

There was an angry huff. “You’d better not be setting me up with some bloke in there. Because if you are, I shall kill you.”

“How did she know a man was involved?” Jenny whispered in awe.

“Who’s that? Let me in!” Donna yelled, and Wilf was shoved out of the way.

Donna forced her way through the door, and found herself staring at Half Ten. He meekly smiled back. “Hello,” he said, and waved his fingers daintily.

“Hello, I’m Donna. But I have the feeling you already know that. Aren’t you John Smith?” she queried, peering into his face suspiciously.

“I erm… I have been known by that name,” he cautiously answered. “It’s as good a name as any.”

Donna glared in disbelief. “Mum. Gramps. Out! Me and him need to have words.”

“But…,” Sylvia tried to delay her, to no effect.

“I said out, the pair of you!” Donna stressed through gritted teeth.

Sylvia grabbed Jenny’s hand to guide her out. “Come on, love. I’ll show you your room.”

Jenny meekly followed, shooting Donna an expression of regret as she passed by.

“That’s odd. I know her,” Donna said to herself as she watched them go. She then turned to Half Ten, who had stood to join her; and was startled when she realised how near he was. “That girl; I’ve seen her before. Somewhere with you, and I… I was being… we were…”

“Yes, Donna,” he soothed her, reaching out to touch her arms. “Can you feel it too?”

“I can feel something; like I should be with you, that you mean something important in my life,” she confessed in a small voice, unable to comprehend what she was saying.

They were drawn to embrace, and gazed deeply into each other’s eyes.

“What’s happening?” Sylvia whispered from outside the door.

“Shush! I’m listening,” Wilf admonished her.

Jenny clamped a hand over her mouth to stop her giggles escaping. Being part of a family was proving to be highly amusing despite the drama happening nearby.

“Donna, it’s me,” Half Ten informed her.

She gasped, and then simply said, “Doctor.”

The eavesdroppers had to look away at that point because a brilliant light burst out from the couple standing in the room; a bright golden light that lasted merely a few seconds.

“Something’s happened to them,” Jenny commented. “They feel different to me.” She clutched her head. “I can feel and hear them. I can… Oh!” And a beautiful smile lit up her face.

“What is it, Sweetheart?” Wilf asked with deep concern, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“My parents are whole again,” she happily declared to her confused grandparents.

 

As black became gold which in turn became everyday life, Donna found herself looking into the golden brown eyes of her Spaceman. “YOU,” she gasped out in surprise, and hugged him. “How did you get back here?”

He shook his head as once missing thoughts easily danced around his mind; and grinned manically in delight. “I stole Jack’s vortex manipulator,” he boasted proudly. “At least, I think it was his. I found it lying about on the table in the TARDIS not long before I left and stepped on to that god forsaken beach.” He gave a small shrug. “I took it just in case.”

“In case of what? Marauding zombies?” she queried. “You really didn’t expect things to work out from the word go, did you.”

“I erm…” He shot her a sheepish smile. “I suspected that I was being tested, that no matter how much I loved Rose, I wasn’t and would never be the one she wanted.”

“Don’t give me that!” she protested. “If you truly loved her you would have stayed, no questions asked. You’d have been prepared to spend your whole life trying to convince her you loved her enough.”

“Or I would have seen that she needed to be freed from her obsession,” he argued. “I wanted her to be happy, not constantly reminded of what she couldn’t have.”

“Okay, I’ll give you that one,” Donna conceded. “How long did you last?”

He pinked up as he remembered that long forgotten event. “Not long after you both left. She went from kissing me desperately to running after him. I tried to be strong, to hold her hand for her, but she sobbed so much, I…” His eyes glazed over with unshed tears. “I couldn’t stick around, knowing I was second best and some horrible consolation prize. I wanted her to love me back for being me; not some shadow.”

“Half Ten,” Donna said quietly, placing a hand on his cheek. “You are not, and have never been a shadow. What about the other business?”

“That was almost instantaneous too,” he replied, enjoying being petted with such adoration. “I could feel the cognitive processes slowing down just before certain memories started whizzing by. I knew my only hope was to find you if I didn’t want to burden Rose with a gibbering wreck.”

“Ah, at last the real true comes out instead of all those excuses you told yourself. There’s nothing like becoming a full-time carer to kill any love you have for someone,” she noted.

He shook his head. “I couldn’t do that to her, Donna,” he confessed in a guilty whisper. “She wanted a man to love her, not a man-child to look after every second of the day who would have trouble remembering who she was and what we had done together.”

“You did the right thing, for both of you,” she agreed. “Come here, you prawn.” And she threw her arms around his shoulders to hug him deeply. “I’m so proud of you,” she murmured, acknowledging his sacrifice.

By the time they let go of each other they had to hastily wipe away tell-tale tears. Neither of them handled showing their emotions or vulnerability very well.

“Look what you’ve done to me,” he mocked. “Five minutes together and you’ve got me melting.”

She smiled in relief. “Me? You’re the one causing all the wetness. I ought to rename you ‘marsh’ or ‘foggy’.”

“Ha ha. But talking of names; I need a new name. One that is mine and mine alone,” he pointed out.

“Half Ten not good enough for you any longer?” she teased.

“We’ve been through this before. I am not going to go around calling myself by a time,” he pretended to huff.

They continued to argue the toss as they made their way into the kitchen and during making a pot of tea.

“By the way, that was our Jenny with me when you walked in,” he casually remarked as he handed her a cup.

“Our Jenny?!” Donna squealed. “Where is she?” In her excitement the cup of tea was forgotten as she ran to find Jenny, and have a joyous but tearful reunion.

 

Much later, Half Ten grabbed a moment to talk alone with Donna. Having regained his mind, he was eager to keep a hold on other things; namely his best friend and his newly found daughter.

“Donna, we can be her parents. You and me together again, just like old times,” he declared.

“In case it has escaped your notice, Sunshine, we aren’t really her parents,” Donna scoffed in disbelief; just as he had expected her to.

He pouted. “I know that. Okay, perhaps she doesn’t, but does it really matter? As I said, we can be together.”

Donna sighed in exasperation. “But she might expect us to get married, the poor wee thing. We’d be nothing but a bitter disappointment.”

“I don’t see why we would be,” he argued. “We’ll just let everyone assume we are married, like we always did.”

“The perfect marriage. Living together but having no sex life,” she sarcastically remarked.

“I really don’t see what your problem is!” He glared at her. “Such a plan is the perfect solution for now. Aside from all the possible incest vibes, you don’t fancy me and I certainly don’t fancy you. It’s a match made in heaven.”

“You don’t have to sound so bloody pleased about it,” she practically spat at him. “You really haven’t thought this through properly. What happens when you meet up with the next skinny blonde you’ll fall in love with? What will I do then? Do I become the Wicked Witch of the West in your life, or just some gullible woman you can easily abandon with Jenny?”

“Where do you get these ideas from? I came all this way to rescue us, so why would I abandon you, no matter who I meet?” He panted with indignation. “I gave up Rose for you.”

“Then more fool you!” she shouted back. “You could have had the one person you were made for, literally in your sense, and you blew it. Why? Why bother coming back to me? I don’t understand it, I really don’t. It’s not even as if I had asked you to come back across the void, so I won’t let you use that one against me.”

“Oh!” Now he understood what the problem was. It was the same type of revelation as that moment soon after he was formed, again. “You think I’m doing this out of some misguided loyalty, that I’ll leave you at the drop of a hat; but I promise I won’t, Donna.” Stepping forward, he grasped her hands. “Even if you weren’t related to me I’d still think you are a beautiful, wonderful person. My life needs you in it. Please be there. I can’t cope if you’re not. And when you run off to marry some fella, I’ll be there, supporting you.”

“Give over,” she admonished him. “As if that could ever happen.”

“I know so,” he insisted. “I briefly saw it in the time lines when I still had some time sense.”

“You did?” she asked hopefully. “An actual bloke, and not some fake set up?”

“Yes,” he readily answered, drawing out the syllable. “I know better by now then to lie to you.”

“Well, I don’t know what to say,” she admitted, overcome by this news.

“How about ‘be my housemate and my friend’?” he suggested.

She smiled softly at him. “Yeah, why not. How long were you thinking of?”

He sucked in his teeth while he thought about that. “Until we need other people, I suppose.”

She nodded in agreement. “Seems fair.”

“So… do we go and tell Jenny about our plans and the truth?” he asked.

“Yes,” she answered firmly in return, and took hold of his arm. “Let’s go be a proper family.”

From her little spot where she had been spying on them, Jenny had questions of her own that she wanted to ask them. Little things, like what should she do next, what happens if her real dad turned up, what happens to them if he turned up, and could she live with them? But all of those were pushed aside by her delight when they hugged each other and held on tight. Who needed to question that?


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** You might need a tissue by the end of this. I know I did.  
>  **A/N2:** none of the images of Catherine Tate or David Tennant are mine.

  


 

The good thing about being a Time Lord, Jenny found as the days wore on, was that your appearance didn’t alter all that much over time. It meant that she could pop in and out of her parents’ lives in no particular order without confusing them too much. Not that their minds were easily confused now that their joint problem had been dealt with.

Over the years they had lived in this universe, on this planet, they had had several dalliances with other people, but it always seemed to be that whenever the person found out about the existence of Jenny and their relationship, they faded out of the scene. In short, neither parent had ended up married, or even in a long term relationship; which was an enormous shame, Jenny felt. Both of them were such loving, caring people, who deserved to be the centre of someone’s world.

Still, it was a complete surprise to find out that they were living together as a non-couple fifty odd Earth years later.

“Who cares?” Donna had stridently asked her when Jenny had thought to voice her surprise. “Everyone assumes we are brother and sister, or husband and wife anyway, so why disappoint them? I certainly don’t care. I do get asked about you though.”

“You do?” Jenny queried, her interest piqued.

“Oh yes! Nosey load of ‘so-and-so’s,” was the reply.

“Don’t be mean,” Half Ten immediately put in. “You’d be heartbroken if no one asked after us, let alone wondered about our Jenny here.”

“That’s true,” Donna agreed. “If they didn’t mention her, I’d soon bring Jenny into the conversation, don’t you worry.”

“I didn’t say I was worried,” he teased.

“I should think you wouldn’t be, considering you’ve got nothing to worry about as you get waited on hand, foot and finger,” Donna remarked.

“I do not!” he protested, causing her to laugh. “I look after you just as much.”

“That you do,” she agreed, and patted his hand. “I wouldn’t be without you now.”

“A bit hard to. We seem to be welded to each other,” he pretended to gripe.

“I know. It’s the handcuffs, isn’t it? It always comes back to the handcuffs.” She then shot him a cheeky look.

“What handcuffs?” Jenny wanted to know as she placed a fresh cup of tea in front of them both and they acknowledged their gratitude.

“Oh, you know. Anyway, moving on,” Half Ten vaguely answered. “Been anywhere interesting lately?”

“Ah,” Jenny sighed. “That’s partly why I’ve come to see you both.”

“Aw gawd, this sounds bad,” Donna remarked.

“Give the girl a chance to tell us,” Half Ten chided her. “It could be good news. You never know, we might finally be grandparents.”

Jenny found herself facing two expectant expressions. She gulped nervously. “Well, I have met someone.”

A wide grin broke out. “See! I told you!”

“Dad, I don’t quite mean in that way,” Jenny cautiously retorted. “Okay, there is a man that was very pleasant, and we chatted for quite a long time.”

“Did you ask him to become your companion? Because you know how we feel about that sort of thing,” Donna reminded her. “We worry about you being on your own.”

“I’m sure you do, Mum, but I’m a big girl now and I can look after myself,” Jenny replied, somewhat defensively. “No, that wasn’t the reason I brought him up. He…” She paused for breath, unsure how to broach the subject. “He said he might know where Dad is.”

Donna reached over and carefully took Half Ten’s hand between her own. “And?”

“I’ve got a positive lead. Do you think I should follow it?” Jenny tried to show deep concern whilst hiding her excitement at her news. “Mum, Dad, should I?”

They both nodded back at her. 

“Of course you should,” Half Ten said far too quietly. “He’s your real father, after all.”

“You _are_ my real father,” Jenny insisted, throwing herself down onto her knees in front of them in order to grasp his spare hand. “You’ve always been there for me, and isn’t that what matters at the end of the day?”

She hated seeing him upset, and this subject tended to bring up all sorts of insecurities for both her parents. How could she fail to see them as anything else after all they had done for her? They had accelerated the growth of a TARDIS and handed it over to her to travel through time and space when they could have used it purely for themselves. They had also promised to always wait for her to return, although she knew they were fast approaching the day when they wouldn’t be able to keep hold of that promise.

“Jenny, we already know,” he stated, giving her hand a squeeze. “We get one more visit and then that’s it for us.”

“But…” She swept her gaze between them, taking in their resigned acceptance. “How do you know?”

“Because you told us, love,” Donna answered when Half Ten teared up. “We know what’s coming and we’ve made our decision. In fact, we made it years ago; nothing has changed.”

“I don’t understand,” Jenny admitted, somewhat puzzled.

“You go and find your real dad. He needs you and we’re not much use to you anymore”

“That’s not true,” she denied.

“I think it is,” Donna disagreed. “He is so lonely, whereas we’ve got each other, have done since the metacrisis. You go, love, be a proper Time Lord and see all those stars for us. We’ve held you back for too long.”

As Jenny opened and closed her mouth, Half Ten added his own plea, “Go make us even prouder of you. You’ll know what to do.”

Jenny threw her arms around them in a grateful hug. “You are the best parents in the whole universe!” she declared.

“That’s only because we have the best daughter.”

Tears shone in her eyes as she drew back from them. Jenny didn’t know, nor care, which one had complimented her; she knew they both meant it. With renewed determination, she told them all about her latest travels, and they laughed together; something they had always been able to do.

 

Laughter had had been their medicine through all the trials of their life, all the disappointments and the heartbreaks. Jenny encouraged them to remember how naïve she had once been as they had tried to explain what adult love was; her wonder when she first saw a baby being born, even though it had been on the telly, and her dad had been mortified to be asked how it had got there in the first place. She recalled how she had lain in bed listening to their conversations, and boy had they been revealing! Who would have thought sex talk could be so informative and entertaining?

Through all the teasing and questions about failed relationships, Jenny had known her parents loved each other in their own special way. Her friends had thought they were mad to care so deeply and remain friends in the way that they had, but Jenny had known why and understood. No one knew the true nature of how they had come to be together. Most had assumed it had been a shotgun wedding of some sort. From what her friends had said, Jenny also knew that they had been a good role model for her to follow because other people’s parents simply stopped liking one another. If she could have half the relationship they had when she eventually chose a romantic mate, then she would be happy.

The weird thing was that it had been extremely easy to tell the lie that her parents had once been married and together in order to explain why they were her parents. That fact had puzzled Jenny, so whenever it was assumed, she had asked the person why they believed it. Without fail, everyone had pointed to the insults they fondly used, the tender touches of comfort, the way they smiled, how they supported one another; and how they behaved towards Jenny herself as if she was the shining light in their lives. No wonder any possible spouses had almost run for the hills, for how can you possibly compete with that?

In light of that, it was strange how she came to notice the lonely man watching her mother late that afternoon as she pottered about in the garden.

Donna spied the man standing by the fence as she pruned a beautiful but overgrown rose bush. She smiled at him in greeting, and was relieved when he smiled back. “Are you here for a visit?” she asked him as she straightened up.

“Yes,” he answered softly, and adjusted his tie. “I heard that my daughter might be staying near here.”

Hmm. That’s how he was playing it, was it? “What’s she like? Perhaps I know her,” she offered.

“Well…” He awkwardly fiddled with his jacket sleeve. “Her name is Jenny, and last time I saw her she had blonde hair.”

“Our daughter is called Jenny,” Donna stated casually. “And she is blonde. Would you like to meet her?”

“I’m sure she isn’t old enough,” he started to say when he spotted Half Ten being escorted from the shed into the garden by Jenny.

Donna tried not to be worried by how ashen Half Ten looked. His ticker wasn’t so good anymore and was close to the end of its limited life.

“Mum, I’m just taking Dad in. He’s not feeling well. Where’s the spare set of shears?” Jenny called out.

“Where they always are!” Donna yelled back, and then she turned to her visitor. “Kids, eh? I’m supposed to be the one with the appalling memory.”

He stammered a bit before indicating towards Half Ten, and asked, “Your husband; is he nice?”

There was a merry twinkle in her eye as she replied, “There’s a certain something about him. He was a long streak of nothing when we first met, but he proved to be okay.” Donna then turned to call to Jenny before he could make a sound. “Jenny, come and meet someone!” She then murmured to him, “Before you ask; yes, I do, and yes she is.”

Jenny bound up and shyly said, “Hello.”

Donna patted Jenny’s arm and told her, “We’ll be in the kitchen if you need us.” And then she left Jenny to stand there whilst she guided Half Ten inside instead.

Jenny watched them go, needing and fearing this moment. “I’m Jenny Noble,” she announced to the stranger. “Am I right in thinking you’re…?”

“I’m the Doctor,” he stated, slightly stunned. “Did you say Noble?”

“Yes,” she eagerly confirmed. “Those are my parents, John and Donna Noble, but they aren’t married. They’re more like brother and sister; but you already know that, don’t you, Dad.”

He reluctantly nodded. Then his mouth opened to try and ask a question. “Why do…?”

“Don’t I get a hug? I’m sure you could do with one too,” Jenny offered.

A broad smile lit up the Doctor’s face as he held his arms out and welcomed her body in to his embrace.

From inside the kitchen, both Donna and Half Ten watched the reunion pensively as they held on to each other. “That went well. Our girl has found a new home,” Donna stated.

“And just in time,” Half Ten agreed. “Ready for our last big adventure together?”

“Yeah,” she replied. “It’s been good though, ain’t it?”

“Definitely. It’s been the best. I could never have done this without you,” he said, tenderly cupping her cheek.

She clasped her hand over his. “Same here. Onwards, forever.”

He returned her fond smile. “Onwards and forever.”

 

When Jenny eventually returned to her parents’ home, having had a few adventures with her father, she found the place rather quiet. There was no television on, no sound of a kettle boiling, no tea cups being rattled, not even the sound of laughter; which was the norm.

“Mum? Dad?” she called out as she walked through the rooms, but there was no answer.

Panic gripped her when she spotted the Radio Times spread out on the arm of a chair, carefully opened on the page two days beforehand. They were always so scrupulous about being up to date with any paperwork, no matter how menial it was. She yelled for them as she rushed up the stairs, not knowing which bedroom to go to first. As it was, the choice was made for her, because when she reached the top of the stairs her mother’s bedroom door was wide open; almost in invitation. Stepping forward, she could plainly see both her parents lying on the double bed, holding hands to the very end.

“Let me see,” the Doctor said as he appeared by her side. Using his sonic screwdriver, he efficiently scanned them and shook his head. “I’m sorry, Jenny. They died within moments of each other.”

Jenny staggered against the door frame. It doesn’t matter how much you expect something, it still comes as a shock. “They just couldn’t live without each other. They’d often said that in jest, and it was true.” She wiped at her eyes, trying to vainly smile. “They tried; you don’t know how often they tried. But they always came back together. Even the alternate universe wasn’t enough to keep them apart.”

In silent grief, the Doctor wrapped her in his arms and held her tight. Nothing else was needed.

 

“You have nothing to regret,” Jenny would later say to the Doctor. “They both knew you wouldn’t come back for them; it just isn’t your style.”

“And what is my style, Jenny Noble?” he had asked, in his usual distracting way.

“You go on and you live,” she had quoted. “Did you ever call someone your best friend again?”

“No, not really,” he solemnly answered. “I never could. I got close once, but no one could replace your mother.”

“She told me to find you and end your loneliness; in fact, they both insisted.”

He wryly smiled. “And that’s why she was the most important woman in all the universes,” he commented. “She gave me back you.”

They both shared a moment of gratitude.

 

THE END


End file.
